Gunmen killed an activist from the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Gaza early on Friday, Fatah said, hours after a member of a Hamas-led security force died by a roadside bomb.

Six Hamas men were abducted by Fatah gunmen in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya early Friday morning, residents told Reuters. Hospital officials confirmed a member of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades had been killed by gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip.

Fatah accused the Hamas-led security force of "executing" the activist.

Local residents said members of the Hamas-led force had surrounded the home of the activist and gunfire ensued. They had sought to question him in regard to the roadside bomb. The bomb explosion left a second member of the Hamas-led force in a critical condition and injured seven others, hospital officials said. Three bystanders, including two children, were among those wounded, they added.

Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Qanoua said on Thursday it would "chase those killers who carried out this cowardly action".